ok, so I want to do the small bumper conversion, or atleast start to get the parts. but, Im not 100% sure on which year I need, mine is a 73 GT, so from pictures I need a 72, is that right? And as far as the rear bumper, all I want to do is lose my vertical pieces and the rubber trim. If I do that, will it look like the red GT's rear bumper? Or does the rubber trimmed bumper look wrong without the rubber installed (obviously filling in the holes). Also, I notice that my rear bumper sticks out farther than the red one, did I use the wrong mounting brackets? But I also noticed that if I move my bumper in, it will interfere with the Grabber spoiler ends. Do they need to be modified? I figured the pictures would help. Mine is the blue, not sure who's the red GT is, but its nice! Thanks for your help!
Personally I would keep the 73 only Bumper. It kind of sets it apart and shows a glimpse of what was to be.....
yeah, I thought about that too, it really doesnt look bad at all. but I would remove the vertical peices and the rubber, I prefer the naked chromed look. since it wasnt born a GT, did the GT come without those peices?
I did the swap, and the rear bumper will stick out a little anyway. I hear that the 73 stuck out a little more, just for a space cushion if hit, but I doubt it was much of a difference. AS for the front bumper, I did a Mav conversion and finding small bumpers was a major chore. I bet finding a Comet front bumper will be even worse. Good luck. Luckily for you, you started with a 73 so you don't really need the valence for the front, the 73 looks fine with earlier bumpers, just a little more open space in the middle, where the earlier turn signal lights mount. But, if the comet is much different than the mav, ignore all I have said. I assume they are pretty similar, except for that bump in the front of the bumper. Basically, what I did, was find a small bumper car, and take the bumper and everything that attached to it, including the valences, lights, grill, etc. If you don't need it later, ebay it. But it is easier to lose it later, than it is to find it if you find that you forgot one piece. Unless the donor car is close by and someone else isn't stalking it for parts.
There is quite a bit of difference between the 70/72 and the 73 rear bumpers. Its really more noticable when you get the 2 different years side by side. The rear bumper will be full of holes if you remove the rubber trim. I would just find another rear bumper if I was you. I would also remove the rear mounts and find a set of 70-72. That way you can get rid of those filler extensions below the bumper. It will then also pull in tighter against the car like it should be. I converted a 77 and mine did not stick out any further than the factory ones.
Rubber trim... ...some GT's did have rubber trim. All the rubber trim GT's that I have seen were '73-'75. Note: the rear bumper is the same for all up to '73, but the '73 bumper brackets set the bumper away from the car farther. There are also rubber/vinyl filler pieces below the qtr. extensions to fill in the void created by the extended brackets. Seth
